Maryland State Police and University of Maryland Eastern Shore Police are searching for three suspects in the death of a UMES student from Severn.
Edmond St. Clair, 21, was pronounced dead at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury shortly after 9:30 p.m. Police say that St. Clair, a junior at the school, had suffered stab wounds to his upper torso.
Investigators say that St. Clair was stabbed on campus while sitting with his brother and another man in a Honda that belonged to St. Clair's girlfriend. While the three were driving through UMES' Somerset County campus, police say they encountered "three or four" people walking in the street. An altercation ensured before St. Clair was stabbed.
St. Clair's brother, who is not a UMES student, ran to a campus police officer's car and told her that his brother had been stabbed. EMS personnel were called and St. Clair was taken to the hospital.
Police do not believe the assault on St. Clair was random and have suggested an argument or ongoing dispute as the motive behind the killing. The suspects are described only as African-American males in their late-teens or early 20s.
UMES issued a statement through the office of President Juliette B. Bell that read, in part: "There is no more heart-wrenching duty for a college administrator than conveying this kind of tragic news to not only parents and loved ones, but everyone in the UMES community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Edmond’s family and friends.
"Edmond’s family has our assurance that campus police officers are working closely with the Maryland State Police, which is the primary investigative agency, to apprehend the perpetrator of this tragic crime."
Anyone who witnessed the crime or has any other information is urged to contact Maryland State Police at (443) 260-3700.
Image of Edmond St. Clair courtesy University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
